The Truth
by kiratotherescue
Summary: Taking place after 2x12, Ezra finally tells Ella about his relationship with her daughter.  Will the truth set them free, or ruin everything?
1. Realization

"When Spencer's parents hear about this…" As soon as Ella Montgomery's words reached Ezra's ears, he became instantly confused. He kind of just stood there, not knowing what to say. He knew that there was no way of getting out of telling Ella about him and Aria at this point. He swallowed. "Ella…it's not…Spencer…" "Well, who is it then? It can only be Hanna or Aria, and Hanna has a boyfriend and Aria certainly would never—" She suddenly stopped rambling, and Ezra could see in her eyes that she had found the answer on her own. He could see tears well up in her eyes. "Ella…" he tried to reach for her shoulder, but she pulled away. "I trusted you…as a friend…as her _teacher_…" "Ella, I'm _still_ your friend. I'm still the same guy." "NO, Ezra. It's not that simple! You—you took advantage of her! I thought—I thought you were different!" "Ella, it's NOT like that. I would NEVER hurt Aria!" "Then what is it, Ezra? How is it different?"

Ezra put his hands firmly on Ella's shoulders. "Just—just listen to me for one minute, okay?" Ella made a slight nod. Ezra stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "I…I love Aria. I love—I love the way she lights up any room she's in, with just her smile, her laugh," he could see a very slight smile on Ella's face that quickly went away as soon as she noticed it was there. "Whenever I'm with her…it's like nothing else matters. It's just me and Aria. Everything else disappears. And every moment I'm with her…I just fall harder. I _love_ her, Ella. I love her."

Ella tried to wipe her tears away. "Is that true?" "Yes. Every word of it—" Ezra was interrupted when he saw the four girls walk out of the room. He immediately ran to Aria. She practically threw herself into his arms. He could feel her sobs soaking into his shirt, but he didn't care. He just held her, and he never wanted to let her go. "Ezra…I did something terrible…" she said softly. "Shhh…it's okay…I'm here." Ezra said, softly stroking her hair. He kissed her on the forehead. He figured anything more would get him in trouble at a police station.

"Aria." Ezra heard Ella's voice beside them. Aria pulled away. "Mom, this isn't what it looks like—" "Don't bother, Aria." Ella sighed. "Just go get in the car. We'll be there in a few minutes." Aria nodded, gave Ezra's hand a squeeze, and walked over to the other girls, hugging them all before she walked out of the station. Ella looked straight at Ezra. "Ezra, I think you should go. I just—I can't tell Byron about this right now. The last thing we need right now is this…we'll um—we'll call you later." she ran her hands through her hair. Ezra could see the circles under her eyes. She was so tired. He could tell. "I—I understand, Ella." He began to walk away, when Ella called out again. "Ezra—wait." He turned around. "You…you really love her?" "I do." "…Okay." she said quietly. He wasn't sure if it was a sign of approval or simply recognition. He decided to give her a small hug, which was expectedly awkward, then left the police station.


	2. Secret's Out

It was the night after the police had found the girls with Allison's murder weapon. They had been through a whirlwind, exhausted and tired from the mess A had gotten them into. Aria was in her room, doing her homework, when her mother walked in and sat down on her bed. "Hey, honey." "Hey." Things had been pretty awkward since Ella had found out about Aria's relationship with Ezra. They had barely said a word about it.

"Listen, Aria—"

"Mom, please, you don't know the whole story—"

"I'm not angry." Aria paused for a moment, confused. "…What?"

"I was at first, when he told me. I was furious, but—as I listened to him, watched him talk about you…I could see it." Ella swallowed. "It's just…I don't want you to get hurt Aria."

"I won't, mom. I promise, Ezra would never—"

"Aria, there's something I need to tell you. I've never told anyone this before."

"What is it?" Ella sighed, and started talking.

"When I was in college, I…I slept with my professor. I don't know how it happened, it just did. He was just so handsome and charming, and—he took advantage of me. And after that, he never even spoke to me again. It was like nothing had ever even happened. I was angry, hurt…and most of all, heartbroken…and I'm just so scared that the same thing will happen to you. I don't want you to make the same mistake I did."

"Mom," Aria placed her hand on Ella's. "that's _not_ going to happen. Please, trust me. Ezra cares about me." For a little while, the two just sat together in silence. Aria was afraid to say anything because she knew what was coming next. "Aria…we have to tell your father." "But, mom, what's going to happen—" "We _have_ to, Aria. He has a right to know. We'll figure things out." The two stood up together and walked downstairs, hand in hand. Aria had never been so nervous in her life.

* * *

><p>When Ella and Aria arrived downstairs, Byron had already set the table for dinner. "Oh, there you two are! You're just in time!" Ella tried to fake a smile. "Um, Byron…we need to talk to you." "…What's wrong?" "Honey, I'm just—I'm just going to come out and say this," Aria was squeezing her hand so tight Ella feared it would cut off her circulation. "Aria and Ezra are…together. They're dating." Aria couldn't place the look on her father's face. A mix of utter confusion and disgust. "…What?" Byron turned to Aria. "Aria, you better tell me your mother is goddamn lying." "Dad…" Aria could feel herself start to cry.<p>

Byron slammed his hand down on the table. "I can't BELIEVE this! I have let that man into my HOME! We TRUSTED him, Ella! How could he do this? Aria, how could you let him take advantage of you like that?" "Dad, please!" Ella held Aria close. "Byron, don't do this!" "Are you siding with her or something? Ella, he was her TEACHER!" "I'm not taking _anyone's_ side, Byron." "You know what, I'm not going to deal with this right now." Byron took his keys and his coat and headed for the door. "Byron, where are you going?" "FOR A DRIVE!" he slammed the door, and he was gone.


	3. Consequences

Ezra had had a very long day. He hadn't really talked to Aria since yesterday. He decided to go to the local Rosewood bar for a drink. As he walked in, he saw Byron Montgomery sitting at the counter. He couldn't be sure if Ella had told him about him and Aria yet, so he decided to sit a few seats away, hoping he wouldn't notice. To his dismay, he heard Byron call out, "Hey! Ezra!" Ezra could see a few shot glasses in front of him, and from the way he was talking, he figured he had already had a little too much to drink.

"Hey, Byron…" he walked over nervously and sat down, taking a sip of his beer. "So," Byron chuckled. "I heard you're fucking my daughter." "_Excuse me?_" "You heard me!" "Byron, I would never hurt Aria—" before he could finish his sentence, Byron punched him hard in the face, knocking him down. Ezra slowly stood up, wiping a little bit of blood from his nose and his lip. "Byron, please." The owner was looking at them suspiciously. "Let's not do this. You're obviously very drunk—" Byron tried to throw another punch at him, but thankfully, a large, muscular man held him back. "No trouble in here. Get outta here or I'll kick you guys out myself." He pushed Byron out of the door and Ezra followed. He knew he was in no shape to drive home. Ezra gave a dreadful sigh as he realized he would have to drive Byron home.

* * *

><p>Aria heard a knock on the door, hoping it was her father. Her and her mother had been worried sick. He wouldn't reply to their phone calls or text messages. The two of them went to the door, and opened it to a shocking sight. Ezra was there, holding Byron up. "Um…hi." Ezra said. Aria was almost frozen in shock. She had never seen her dad like this. "Oh my God, Ezra, I'm so sorry about this…thank you for driving him here. Are you okay?" Ella was rambling as she took Byron and walked him to the couch. "It's no problem, Ella."<p>

Aria looked at Ezra and saw cuts and a bruise on his face. "Ezra…"

"I'm fine, Aria."

"What happened? Did he hurt you?"

"It's okay, Aria. If I were in his position…I would've probably done the same thing."

"I'm so sorry, Ezra…" Ezra hugged her tightly. "I'm okay. You should go to your dad." "Okay." Aria sighed. She watched Ezra go back to his car, then walked to her dad, who was lying on the couch. She held his hand and kneeled down next to him. "Dad…I'm so sorry…" she was crying again. How could this happen? All she wanted was to be with Ezra. "Aria…" Byron slurred, looking at his daughter. "Yeah?" "Promise me something." "Yes?" "Will you always be daddy's little girl?" "Yes, dad, always…" she watched him drift off to sleep, and she slept next to him, sitting next to the couch and still holding his hand.


	4. Finally

Aria woke up on the couch with a blanket over her, which her father must have put there. She looked around and saw her dad sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, and a plate of eggs and bacon in front of the seat next to him. She stood up and stretched, then walked over to the table and sat down.

"Hey, dad." "Hey, Aria." It was silent for a moment. Byron sighed and put his hand over his face. "Aria…I'm so sorry for last night. I went way too far, I don't know what I was doing…" "I'm sorry, dad. I shouldn't have kept it from you and mom…" Silence again. "Aria—" "I know you don't want me to be with him. I know what you think about…us. I just…I _love_ him, dad." "…I know you do, sweetie. I don't want you to get hurt, Aria. All I want to do is protect you." "I know, dad. But you can't—you can't protect me forever." Aria picked at her eggs. "Damn, it'd be easier if you turned out to be a lesbian like Emily," her dad chuckled to himself. Aria laughed, too. _This_ was the dad that she knew. "Hey, Emily doesn't have it _that_ easy! Girls can be bitches!" "Oh, you think _I_ don't know that?" It was funny how a few minutes ago, they were barely talking, and now they were laughing together as if nothing had happened.

Byron broke the laughter first. "Aria, more than anything, I want you to be happy." Aria thought she might know where this was heading. She tried not to smile so big and nodded. "And, even though I'm not exactly a fan of this…thing…I haven't made the greatest choices in the love department, either, and, I think, after last night…I should at least give Ezra a chance."

Aria decided not to hold it in any longer. She jumped out of her chair and squealed. She ran over to her dad and gave him a big bear hug. "Thank you thank you thank you, dad!" She even gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, yeah, but you know the deal. He _has_ to endure the Montgomery family dinner before he's initiated!" "I'm gonna go call him right now and tell him!" Aria scurried upstairs to her room. She couldn't wait to tell Ezra the good news. Byron was left at the table, laughing to himself and wondering just what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

><p>It was Tuesday, the first family dinner with Ezra over at the house, and their first actual appearance as a couple in front of Aria's family. Aria's heart fluttered as she heard a knock on the door. She opened it, and as soon as she saw Ezra, jumped into his arms and kissed him. It felt so amazing not to be worried about if anyone was watching. "You look…beautiful." Ezra said, smiling. "You don't look so bad yourself." Aria laughed. "Come on, help me set the table!" Aria grabbed his hand, and for the first time, they walked over to her family, hand-in-hand, like Aria had always wanted. The truth had set them free, after all.<p> 


End file.
